The Overly Talkative Commander

Beint gazed out at the formation of warships stretching beyond the horizon, then glanced at the projected ship blueprints and shook his head.

"Not enough. Far from enough."

The supervisor froze for a moment before asking, "Do you believe there is a problem with some part of the design, Commander Beint?"

Beint said, "Your designs are excellent. They have greatly improved the fleet under my command."

"But the improvement is not substantial enough. After the battle of Kao Star, the mutated swarm will certainly make further targeted adjustments. In the next engagement, our battlefield advantage will inevitably be greatly reduced."

The fur on the supervisor's neck swayed rhythmically. This was a natural expression Banna People displayed when joking, much like the smile humans wore when making a joke. Clearly, he did not think Beint was being serious.

The supervisor said, "I think you are worrying too much. Isn't the Babel Swarm just a group of creatures that only know how to tinker with molecular physics? That has long been common knowledge."

"No. The mutated swarm is completely different. I have fought them on the battlefield."

As he spoke, Beint paused. After gathering his thoughts, he continued, "They are completely unlike the stubborn, conservative swarms of the past. They are more... more unscrupulous."

"Unscrupulous?" The supervisor was stunned.

In the supervisor's mind, the swarm was bloodthirsty and brutal, cold and merciless, crazed and destructive. But unscrupulous... It was not that the description was wrong; after all, everyone understood the swarm differently. It was simply that no one had ever described them that way before.

This made the supervisor curious about what kind of unscrupulousness Beint meant.

Beint asked, "In the occupied regions of the Dias Empire, these mutated swarms tend to infect Imperial administrative planets rather than destroy them outright. And infected Dias Empire administrative planets are generally left with one or more fleets of empty ships by the mutated swarm. You know about this, right?"

The supervisor nodded.

"Have you ever wondered why?" Beint asked again.

The supervisor shook his head.

Beint answered, "Ideas. In the past, the alliance could unite and reach a consensus quickly because the swarm was bloodthirsty and brutal enough. Inefficient decision-making meant civilization would perish. But now, the mutated swarm has given the civilizations within the alliance a way out. This invisibly affects the urgency of high-level decision-making."

"And this is merely one of the methods the mutated swarm is currently using. War is never confined to the battlefield alone. It is a comprehensive, multidimensional contest between living beings."

The supervisor, who rarely dealt with military strategy, awkwardly shook the fine fur around his neck.

"Even if you explain all this to me, I still won't understand it. That isn't my field of expertise. You know what I'm good at—equipment."

As he spoke, the supervisor suddenly remembered something and asked tentatively, "Commander Beint, there is something that has troubled me for quite a while. I have never been able to figure it out. May I ask?"

"What is it?" Beint asked.

Having received permission, the supervisor let out a breath of relief and asked in confusion, "Why deliberately leave the swarm's new Overlord alive? Isn't a swarm Overlord supposed to be a serious threat?"

Beint looked at the supervisor strangely, as though he had just come to know him all over again.

"You figured it out?"

Beint's surprise was understandable. He was fairly familiar with the supervisor and knew that the man had no interest in military strategy.

It was like an illiterate person suddenly solving a system of linear equations in front of a mathematician. Any mathematician would be shocked.

"I may not understand military strategy, but logistics is directly related to me," the supervisor explained.

"Four attacks were launched against that swarm's new Overlord. Although every fleet sent into battle was defeated, there were almost no personnel casualties. Most of the losses were automated warships with very low mobility, and ammunition expenditure was also quite low."

Hearing the supervisor's explanation, Beint understood. He was not stingy with an answer.

"The reason for deliberately keeping it alive is actually very simple."

"Which do you think is more difficult: the Babel Swarm constantly making psionic jumps and running everywhere while alliance fleets keep searching for and pursuing them, or the Babel Swarm gathering in one place and remaining there to be eliminated?" Beint asked.

The supervisor hesitated. "Uh... the latter, I suppose."

"Then let me ask you this: if a swarm creature learned that a new Overlord had been born after its Overlord died, what would it do?" Beint asked again.

"..."

The answer was obvious. It would naturally gather around the new Overlord and accept its command, because the meaning of existence for every swarm creature was to obey the Overlord's command, including the central brain.

This had always been the consensus of the Galactic Alliance.

All at once, the supervisor realized that what Beint had said was somewhat troubling.

If the news leaked out and, through a series of coincidences, reached the swarm Overlord, wouldn't the Galactic Alliance's plan be ruined?

If the swarm's new Overlord learned of this, how could it possibly allow the alliance's plan to proceed smoothly?

"Is it really all right for you to tell me this directly? This seems... seems like something that shouldn't be discussed," the supervisor said uneasily.

"Hahaha, it's fine. This strategy is already going to be abandoned." Seeing the supervisor's reaction, Beint could not hold back his laughter.

The supervisor was greatly surprised. "Why abandon it? As long as the swarm Overlord is brought under control, destroying the Babel Swarm will be easy."

Honestly, in the supervisor's view, this plan using the swarm Overlord as bait was flawless.

As long as the details of the plan did not reach the swarm Overlord, the Galactic Alliance would effectively possess a magnet for swarm creatures, allowing it to sweep up all the swarm creatures scattered across the galaxy and fleeing in every direction.

Beint explained, "Naturally, because of the mutated swarm already on the Dias Empire's side. Strategically, we cannot determine what changes will occur after these mutated swarms come into contact with the swarm Overlord. Therefore, we must eliminate the swarm's new Overlord before the two groups of swarms unite."

Upon hearing this explanation, the supervisor finally relaxed his worries about a leak.

The supervisor asked, "Since the strategy that is about to be abandoned was meant to use the swarm Overlord to continually attract scattered swarm creatures, why attack it four times?"

"Naturally, to stimulate the new Overlord's desire to survive. Aside from those mutated swarms, the Babel Swarm has only ever had one strategic doctrine: continuously multiply its numbers and modify molecular genes," Beint answered.

Beint continued, "Once our fleets eliminate most of the swarm creatures around the new Overlord, the new Overlord will alter genes and expand the swarm's numbers. As for expanding the swarm's numbers, aside from hive reproduction, it will call for other swarm creatures scattered throughout the galaxy to return."

Mentioning this plan made Beint's feelings complicated. After all, he had proposed it in the first place. If not for the swarm mutation occurring halfway through the plan...

The Babel Swarm would certainly have been driven to extinction!

"What a pity. If not for the emergence of mutated swarms on the Dias Empire's side, the Babel Swarm's destruction would have been inevitable."

"I am becoming more and more curious about who exactly is commanding those mutated swarms."

The supervisor asked with surprise and slight bewilderment, "Isn't the central brain of the mutated swarm a swarm creature?"

Beint shook his head firmly. "Absolutely not. Judging by the behavioral logic of those swarm creatures, it would be difficult for them to undergo such a drastic transformation in their collective behavior. They are far too rigid and conservative."